


Another Selfie Incident

by ms_josephine



Series: Getting My Groove Back. 30 Day One Word Destiel Prompts Challenge [6]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Carriage Driver Dean, M/M, New Orleans, One Shot, Street Performers, Tourist Castiel, mentions of foster care, selfie sticks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 19:14:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18372362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ms_josephine/pseuds/ms_josephine
Summary: While Castiel is touring the French Quarter in New Orleans with his sister Meg, the two stop to pose for a selfie. A thief takes advantage of their distraction and snatches Castiel's backpack. Will anyone help him get it back?





	Another Selfie Incident

**Author's Note:**

> Day 6-Selfie

“Clarence! Come check this out!” Castiel heard Meg calling from up ahead. He stopped staring into the shop window at the little voodoo dolls and hurried to catch up. 

He caught up to Meg standing next to a street performer. The man was wearing a suit, covered in gold paint, and standing as still as a statue. He was very tall with nearly shoulder-length hair. His costume and makeup were great and Castiel admired his ability to stand for so long without moving. He lifted his camera to snap a photo of the man and then told Meg to stand next to him for another. Castiel took several pictures with Meg in increasingly silly poses near the living statue. He had a great view of Jackson Square in the background. 

“Would you be willing to pose with us for a few pictures?” he asked the performer as he pulled out some money to tip him. The man agreed as he broke his pose and grinned at them. At Castiel’s instruction, he stood with his arm around Meg as they both smiled for the camera. Their height difference was comical and the man switched to posing with his elbow on top of Meg’s head as she stood scowling. “Thanks so much! Let’s do one more. A selfie this time.”

Castiel took the camera strap from around his neck and handed it to Meg as he knelt on the ground and dug in his pack for his selfie stick. He got the contraption connected to his phone as Meg and the other man looked through the photos. Standing back up, he took the camera back from Meg and placed it in his bag on the ground. “Ok, let’s turn this way a bit so we can get the cathedral in the background.” Castiel shuffled their little group around a bit and lifted the stick. 

“Alright,” he said as he checked their angle on the screen, “ready? Smile.” All three stood grinning as Castiel took a few pictures. After the third snap, a hooded figure ran past snatching up Castiel’s bag as they went. “Hey!” Castiel shouted as he thrust the phone at Meg before taking off after the thief. 

He only got a few steps before he heard a shout of “DEAN!” from behind him. His eyes still on the runner, he didn’t notice the man that turned around up ahead from his seat on a mule carriage. He was kind of hard to miss when he jumped from that seat to grab a hold of the thief though. Castiel slowed to a jog as he approached. The carriage driver had a firm grim on the runner’s arm and appeared to be scolding them. He looked furious and… disappointed? 

As he got closer, Castiel could hear what he was saying. “Really Claire, we’ve talked about this. You can’t keep doin’ crap like this kiddo. You’re gonna get popped and then what?” He looked up at Castiel as he caught up to them. Oh, he was gorgeous. Even though he looked furious, he was one of the most beautiful men Castiel had ever seen. Around the same height as himself, light brown hair, kissable lips, just the right amount of stubble, and were those bow legs? Castiel shook himself out of his stupor as he remembered where he was. His gaze turned to what he now saw was a teenaged girl. Her blonde hair was in braids under her hood and she struggled against the other man’s hold with a scowl on her face. 

“Let me go Dean! You can’t tell me what to do.” She made a few more attempts to pull her arm free with no success.

“Someone has to! You want respect, you gotta earn it,” the man, Dean, responded. He looked up at Castiel again before dropping his eyes back to Claire. “Give this guy his stuff back and apologize.” Claire looked at him like he’d just sprouted another head before shifting her eyes to Castiel. She clenched her teeth and stared down at the ground. Dean gave her arm a little shake before dropping his voice, “I’m not letting you go until you do kiddo. There’s an officer right across the street. Either of us could flag him down and you’d be back in juvie by dark. I don’t wanna do that but I can’t let you leave with this guy’s stuff.”

Claire looked up. Her expression was defiant, but Castiel could see the fear in her eyes. She looked his way before lowering her eyes again. “I’m sorry,” she said in a small voice. She took the bag off her shoulder and passed it Castiel’s way. He took it and placed it back on his shoulders.

Dean looked up with a pleading expression on his face. “It’s your call man. I get if you wanna call the cops, but I’m askin’ ya not to. Claire here is a good kid. She just makes bad choices sometimes.”

Castiel lowered his head until he made eye contact with Claire. “How old are you?”

Claire shifted her eyes to Dean before looking back, “16”.

Castiel looked at Dean who nodded in confirmation. He looked back to Claire, “Do you live with your parents?”

Claire snorted and tried to put on a passive expression. “Dad took off when I was 10. Mom went to look for him and didn’t come back either. My gram died a few years back. Foster care sucks. Been staying with friends.”

“Not Randy again?” Dean cut in.

“He looks after me Dean,” Claire bit out with a glare.

“Only because you steal for him!” Dean raised his voice again.

Castiel raised a hand to Dean who calmed instantly. He caught Claire’s eye again. “I lost my parents long ago too. I grew up in the system. I know how tough it can be.” Claire looked up at him in surprise. “But it sounds to me like this Randy is worse. How does he look out for you? If I were to have you arrested, would he come to help you?” 

Claire looked afraid. She looked to Dean who quickly schooled his worried expression to a passive one. Dean really wouldn’t stop him if he chose to call the police Castiel realized. “Listen,” Castiel started again as Claire moved her gaze back, “if you need help, you need to call your case worker. I know they are overwhelmed and it takes a lot of work to find a good guardian, but it’s better than going to jail. Please try. Your next target probably won’t be so forgiving.”

Claire started at the ground not saying anything. Castiel thought she wouldn’t answer but she finally nodded her head and whispered a small, “ok”.

Castiel took his pack off to rummage in a side pocket. He produced one of his business cards with his contact information on it. He handed it to Claire who looked at him in confusion. “If you want to talk, you can call me any time. I mean it. Any time.”

Claire took the card and placed it in her pocket, “Thank you,” she said.

Dean finally released her arm. He pulled out his wallet and handed Claire a $10 bill. “Get some lunch and don’t let me catch you doin’ that crap again, ya hear?”

“Yea ok,” Claire said as she grabbed the bill. She took a step back before moving forward and catching Castiel in a fierce hug. “Thanks, or whatever,” she mumbled against his shoulder. 

Castiel barely had time to return the embrace before Claire released him and ran off. He watched her disappear through the crowd of tourists before turning back to Dean. The other man was looking at him with a soft smile on his face. “What?” Castiel asked.

Dean grinned. “Nothin man. That was really cool of you. The kid’s had a lot of tough breaks. I’m Dean by the way,” he said raising his hand.

Castiel returned the handshake. “Castiel. And I understand. Everyone deserves a second chance. Thanks for getting my bag back. I would have been very expensive to replace the contents.”

“Hey, no biggie. You should thank my brother too. He’s the one who got my attention.” Dean raised his chin to someone behind Castiel. He looked back to see Meg standing next to the street performer chatting.

“That’s your brother? He seems like a nice guy. My sister and I loved his costume.”

“Yea Sammy’s a great kid. That’s your sister?” Dean asked.

“Well, not technically. We grew up in some of same foster homes. We’re still very close. Sometimes we were all each other had.” Castiel gazed at Meg with a fond smile.

“Me and my brother are close too. We never went into the system, but we didn’t really have what you’d call a stable home life either. I practically raised him.” Castiel turned to see Dean watching his brother with a smile on his face too. 

“Well, it was nice to meet you Dean, but I should really go rescue your brother. Meg may look innocent, but she’s got a devilish streak in her.” Castiel turned to leave, but Dean’s hand on his arm made him stop. 

“Um, you uh, you seem like a really nice guy and uh, ya know, it was awesome what you did with Claire. I don’t know how long you’re in town for…”

“Actually, I just moved here. Meg was helping me get settled in and then we decided to be tourists for the weekend before she heads back to Illinois.”

Dean’s eyes brightened. “Really? That’s awesome. So, do you wanna get together for coffee or a drink sometime? Not- not like a date or anything. Just ya know, as friends or whatever. I could tell you all the best places to eat, or um, there’s this great bar just across the river. I mean if you wanted it to be a date… uh… Sammy could come too if it would make you more comfortable. I mean-” Dean was blushing fiercely now and he couldn’t meet Castiel’s eye.

As amusing as Dean’s rambling was, Castiel decided to take pity on him. He placed his hand on Dean’s which was making nervous gestures as he spoke. He quieted immediately and looked up. “Dean. I would love to go a date with you.”

Dean relaxed and gave Castiel a brilliant smile. “Awesome,” he breathed. He looked down shyly before looking up to meet Castiel’s gaze again. They stared at each other with goofy grins on their faces for almost a minute. Dean finally looked around before schooling his expression into one of casual indifference. He crossed his arms and rolled his shoulders before clearing his throat. “Ok, cool. Um, I guess I’ll just give you my number and you can call me or whatever.”

Castiel’s grin widened at Dean’s posturing. Damn, he was adorable. “Give me your phone Dean.” Castiel held out his hand where Dean deposited his phone. He called himself and watched Meg look down at his phone from where she stood next to Sam. He saved his number and handed the phone back. His made sure to let his fingers brush Dean’s hand more than was necessary. “Now you have my number as well.”

Dean blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. “Great. Thanks. Well, I guess I’ll call you later?” Dean gave Castiel a hopeful look as he chewed on his lip.

“I look forward to it. Meg leaves Monday, so I should be free to meet any time after that.” Castiel smiled again and placed his hand on Dean’s upper arm and squeezed gently. Dean returned the smile. “I’ll see you soon Dean.”

“See ya, Cas.”

Castiel turned and headed back to Meg and Sam. They were laughing as he reached them. Meg turned to Castiel with a twinkle in her eye. “So Clarence, everything ok? It looks like you had a nice chat with Dean.” She smirked and shot Sam a look. 

“I did.” He turned his gaze to Sam. “Thank you for helping to get my bag back Sam.”

“No problem. I should get back to work. It was nice to meet you both. Maybe I’ll see you around Castiel. Have a great trip Meg.” Sam smiled at them both before moving to take a new pose. 

“Bye Sam,” Meg purred. “Call me.” She winked and gave Sam a wave as they turned away.

“I’ll be seeing you around I hope Sam,” Castiel said as he shot another glance towards Dean. He still stood next to his carriage watching them. Castiel lifted his hand once more in goodbye and Dean returned the gesture before climbing back into his seat. 

As they continued their walk down the street, Meg turned towards her honorary brother. “So, you gonna see him again?” 

Castiel smiled, “Absolutely”.

**Author's Note:**

> Dean gives a free imaginary carriage ride to anyone who leaves a Kudos!


End file.
